Vajra

 

For a long time, I was intimidated by Indian food.  I am guessing that it was because I had very little experience with it when I was growing up in Michigan.  It is very different from anything that I had had, so I didn't really have anything to base it on.  The names of the dishes, also gave me little to base things on.  Because I didn't speak any of the languages that are indigenous to India, unless I new what something was, I would have no clue as to what I would be getting.  I have slowly built up my knowledge of Indian cuisine, and have found many things that I have liked, though I still like to have a guide when I am dining out at an Indian restaurant.  Years ago, I tried out Cumin, a Nepalese restaurant that had received high praise and I really liked it.  Recently, the manager of Cumin went off and founded his own Nepalese Indian Restaurant, Vajra, and Tasting Collective hosted a dinner there.  I figured that it had some good people behind it and with Tasting Collective, I would be having a curated menu, so it was the best of worlds and I had nothing to lose.  Located in a little used section of Chicago Avenue in West Town, despite the fact that the entrance shelter was black and it was night, it was not difficult to find.  The front of the space has a couple of classic French doors that were closed because it was both cold and dark, but the long narrow windows, easily allowed people to see in or out.  The dining space and bar both had elements playing on the classic and Indian art, which also looked to me to be a bit psychedelic.  The space was both nice and comfortable with a lot of wood, tin ceilings, a nice bar, and a very cool Indian mural on the back wall.  I started things off with a cocktail because a cocktail is a good way to start everything off.  Called The Rubicon, which is decidedly not an Indian name, it was definitely international, containing with Roca Patron Silver Tequila (Mexico), Italicus Rosso di Bergamotto (Italy), Lemongrass (South Asian), and Lime, which was dehydrated.  It was tart and very refreshing and made for a nice start to things.

For our first course, we started with Lobster Momos with Nepalese Spices and Tomato-Szechuan Sauce.  Momos are a steamed dumpling native to portions of India similar to Chinese steamed dumplings.  The lobster was sweet, the dumplings had a nice chew, and the spices added an exotic flavor.  The Tomato-Szechuan sauce was spicy, but only mildly so and added a savory flavor to the dumplings.

After the Momos, we continued with Gobhi Manchurian with Fried Cauliflower Florets and Sino-Indian Spices.  While I do like cauliflower, I was actually surprised at how good this was.  The cauliflower was incredibly tender and the spice added a complex and exotic flavor.  This may have been a favorite of mine of the savory dishes.

 

Our next course started with Naan.  I really like Naan and this was very flavorful.  It was served with Paneer Malal, Spiced Paneer Sandwiches with Creamy Sauce and Rice.  Paneer is a soft, unaged cheese that was served in the sauce.  This was like a spicy and flavorful grilled cheese sandwich (with the naan as the bread) and some very good rice.  It was a little messy, with the paneer in the sauce, but I found the best way to eat it was to mix the paneer and sauce with the rice and to pick that up with the naan.  It made for a great bite.

Our first entree were Farm Raised Goat Steaks with Butter Spiced Brussels Sprouts.  The Goat Steaks were really flavorful and surprising.  They seemed to be breaded and fried, but the meat inside was fork tender and very flavorful.  With the Brussels Sprouts, I was a little disappointed.  They were seasoned well and cooked tender, but we only received one each.  With the food we had received to this point, I would have been happy with three.  I don't think with one that there were enough Brussels Sprouts to complement the flavor of the goat steak.

For our final entree, we were served a classic of Indian Cuisine, Butter Chicken.  It was served in a Tomato-Onion Sauce which was also very good.  The chicken was tender and flavorful and a nice finish to the entree side of things.

Dessert was very definitely not Indian or Nepalese, but I had no problem with that because it was really good.  I say that it was not Indian, it was not, but it did have an Indian twist.  We were served a Black Forest Gateau, a rich cake with Chocolate and Cherries with a Classic Indian Sweetbread Crumble.  The sweetbread crumble consisted of chocolate shavings spiced subtly with Indian spices like Cinnamon, Ginger, and Coriander.  It was also served with Whipped Cream, Cherry Jam, and a large Cherry on top.  It was very good and a very nice finish to what was a very good meal.

I really enjoyed my meal and found it both very good and educational.  While I still might go by myself to a random Indian restaurant, I think that I've learned enough that I could come and an enjoy a meal here.